


happy endings are subjective

by trash_mammall



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Blood, Blood and Injury, Catharsis, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Violence, not quite happy but they're ok, version 2.0 here we come
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 02:04:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16734954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trash_mammall/pseuds/trash_mammall
Summary: an alternate ending to Cult Camp, and also an alternate ending to my other fic abt this (though you don't have to read one in order to read the other).David made a mistake by trusting Daniel, and while he's tougher than he appears, anyone would end up damaged.





	happy endings are subjective

**Author's Note:**

> if you've read "and daniel almost wins" you can skip to the line:  
> "He lost count of the hits as they came, only some dulled by his arms, but he never stopped watching the knife."
> 
> TW AND SPOILER:  
> there's quite a bit of blood, and David deals with Daniel in a relatively graphic way. If you're easily disturbed by that I ask you to read with caution <3

David had _so badly_ wanted Daniel to be a good guy.

He’d sensed something the first moment he met those icy eyes, but had brushed it off. Some people just had that kind of energy; that kind of creepy, all-too-happy energy. It was fine. Some would say even _he_ had that energy, so who was he to judge?

There was the blinking - or lack thereof. David had been keeping a close eye on Daniel for the first several minutes of talking with him, and he had begun to realize the incredibly odd void to his natural state. He tried to understand sometimes not blinking for an extended period of time, give this man a chance, but not blinking _at all?_

Everything about this guy was weird, but he always wanted to see the best in things. Daniel seemed nice enough, and he seemed genuinely excited to look after the campers, so why should he complain? Either way, it wasn’t like anything Daniel would do would be seriously dangerous. If anything, the guy maybe would be neglectful or wouldn’t know how to deal with the chaos that came with every activity.

It was fine _._ David had seen a lot, working with Cameron Campbell for so long, so one creepy counsellor was nothing he couldn’t handle.

Everything was _fine._

Or, it was, until Max, Nikki, and Neil had dragged him to the Mess Hall, and he saw what Daniel had been up to while he had been going over paperwork. He saw the banners, the distinct lack of campers, save for SpaceKid, Dolph, and Nurf. The room smelled of grape.

David wasn’t stupid. Naive sometimes, overly optimistic sure, but he wasn’t an idiot. He felt the ice in his veins, following the trail back to those eyes and that smile and he realized, after a moment, that maybe this was beyond his expertise as a camp counsellor.

But he wouldn’t freak out the campers. He was an adult, he could deal with this himself.

“Most are helping prepare for today's festivities,” Daniel explained, David catching his fingers leaving Space Kid’s helmet, a slight smear remaining on the glass, “but a few of them are still hangin' around in the Purification Sauna!”

This was fine, focus on the positive and it’ll all work out.

“You built a _sauna?_ ”

He ignored Max’s shouting, mind catching up to the horrifying fact that the three had been right in the beginning.

That his instincts had been right in the beginning.

As Dolph led Max, Nikki, and Neil to the sauna, Daniel turned his eyes on David. His smile didn’t falter, gaze clawing into David’s chest and forcing him to clench his fists to keep them from trembling.

“Thank you for trusting me so much with the kids, David! I really appreciate it.”

David nodded, smile threatening to break completely. Daniel began his way to the sauna himself, leaving David for a brief moment with Nurf and Space Kid. He quickly pulled the latter towards himself, wiping the smudge of cracker and cheese that had been left behind. David kneeled in front of him, but the wide pupils stared straight through him. He snapped his fingers, waved his hand, frantically knocked on the glass, _anything_.

Space Kid didn’t move.

He barely blinked.

Then he walked past David, Nurf following suit, and they left him on the floor of the Mess Hall, knees growing cold and damp from the wood flooring.

And for a moment the room was silent.

None of this was fine.

David pulled himself up, sweeping dirt from his shins before opening the door. He paused for a moment, trying to understand what was going on. He couldn’t just do nothing, he had a duty to help the kids, but how was he supposed to make a plan?

Daniel was dangerous, obviously. Max and Neil had already laid out some evidence, and the “Purification Sauna” had _Cult_ written all over it. Daniel had done something to the campers. Something terrifying.

This was definitely beyond his experience, beyond any training he could’ve gone through, but Gwen was long gone by now, and there was no way he could contact Mr. Campbell. This was all on him.

David took in a shaky breath, rubbing his face with both hands.

This _would_ be fine. It wasn’t yet, but it would be.

Stay optimistic.

He heard their yelling before he saw anything, then saw Nikki and Neil disappearing through the industrial sauna door. He caught Daniel’s smile, too, caught his hungry eyes and moving arms and the door slamming closed.

Caught them cornering Max.

David’s hand gripped his guitar, and he quickened his pace before they could get closer.

“Daniel, I don’t think this job is a good fit for you.” His voice was rougher than he’d expected, far more commanding, and Max turned to face him, the lines blurred between desperation and relief in his eyes.

Daniel raised his gaze slowly, neck twisting and a crack breaking through the heavy silence.

He laughed.

“I see, and would you care to explain this decision, David?” Daniel’s head snapped to the other side, inhuman and robotic, and David tasted bile at the sound of his name on Daniel’s lips. “Here I thought I had filled out every requirement in my job description, removing any legal grounds for you to terminate my employment.”

David’s knuckles were painted white, hand clutching his guitar in either anger or fear, maybe both. The other moved to grab Max’s hood, pulling him back and behind his legs.

No campers were going to get hurt. That wasn’t an option.

David stepped up close to Daniel, nose to nose, feeling cool breaths on his face. He matched the icy eyes, fire raging strong enough in his stomach to thaw out the frost threatening to paralyze him. He took a breath, stealing himself, but didn’t blink.

He didn’t dare blink.

“Get the _fuck_ away from my campers.”

Daniel’s smile dropped, only for a moment, before it grew wider than David had ever seen it, and far more menacing. There was something new in his eyes, or maybe it had been there before and David had never noticed.

It was greedy, and nauseating, and it was absolutely engulfing.

“I’m sorry to hear you say that, David, but I suppose I can work with this.”

In a split second, Daniel’s fist had grabbed hold of the yellow wrapped around David’s neck. David didn’t need to think, eyes catching a flash of jagged metal before he had both hands on the throat of his guitar.

The wood didn’t connect with anything, but the motion had been enough for Daniel to let go, kicking David in the chest to throw him back. He was scrambling to get up, coughing violently, when he saw a blur of Daniel’s knife far too close to his face. The crooked edge of the knife formed a lump at the back of David’s throat, and he swallowed around it.

His eyes caught blue behind him, and he almost took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief.

Almost.

But then he was throwing himself forward, guitar heavy and solid and he thought it connected with something. He felt the resistance more than he heard the splintering of well-loved wood, pounding blood filling his ears, but he didn’t bother to check. He swung the guitar again, repeating the previous motion perfectly, and any doubt of contact disappeared.

This time he heard the cracking of something, felt the instrument connect, smelled iron.

This time he let himself look, and watched Daniel fall to the ground, blood dripping from his lips. He took a moment to breathe deeply, but felt regret tie a knot in his gut for thinking he had any room for breaks.

Faster than he could have anticipated, Daniel’s bloody fingers were wrapped around the hilt of his dagger and he was throwing himself back at David, handle-first. He tried to move, tried to dodge the attack, but he felt the hard metal of the grip connect with his cheek, followed by a drag of a blade.

Now David _tasted_ iron, spitting crimson into the grass before sending his own fist back, feeling it connect with Daniel’s jaw before he could stand back up properly. David watched Daniel fall to the ground, having not been balanced after lunging with his knife, but he rolled onto his back fast enough, kicking at David’s heels.

Feeling the ground slip from under him, he crashed onto his front and gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. Daniel scrambled, desperate to get the upper hand, and soon David was pushing against a pressure on his chest as Daniel sat on top of him. He felt knuckles connect with his jaw, felt knuckles dig into his abdomen.

He lost count of the hits as they came, only some dulled by his arms, but he never stopped watching the knife.

Eventually, David began shaking. Daniel lifted David’s head by his yellow bandana, now smelling of a nauseating mixture of sweat and metal, and pushed down as hard as he could. The grass was discoloured, and David was seeing spots, and Daniel’s determined grimace morphed into a sickening grin.

Daniel raised his knife with both hands, a moment of theatrics, before thrusting it downwards as fast as he could. Through some wave of adrenaline, crawling its way past exhaustion and blood loss, David caught Daniel by the wrists.

He knew he wasn’t strong enough to keep this up.

He knew he, maybe, wasn’t going to win this.

David’s breaths were laboured, as were Daniel’s, but in each breath he took in there was pain. Everything was laced with an edge of discomfort, and he could no longer tell if it was simply his eyesight or if his arms were vibrating out of sheer effort.

By the growing smile and the hunger in Daniel’s eyes, perhaps it was both.

But then David felt something, saw a flash of blue and black ram itself into Daniel’s side, and suddenly David could _breathe_ again. Suddenly the weight was gone and David could rub his eyes free of spotting void.

He heard a familiar shout, though he couldn’t make out any words. He could pinpoint fear, though, could pinpoint a sob through yelling, and suddenly David was shaking his head clear and standing back up.

Because no camper was going to get hurt.

Because Daniel winning, in any sense of the word, was simply _not_ an option.

When David looked up, Daniel was struggling to hold a frantic Max. Max was kicking, squirming, doing _anything_ he could to get out of Daniel’s arms. David felt fire burn in his chest, something immediate and protective, and he spotted a glimmer of jagged metal on the ground in front of him.

David didn’t think when he moved. Normally he was a believer in thinking before doing but this was an exception that required the strongest of gut reactions. So David didn’t think when he grabbed the hilt, sticky crimson barely registering as he ran forward.

It was almost as if he was watching himself, really.

Almost as if he was watching someone else grab Daniel around the neck and digging shining blade into skin until there was nothing left for the sun to bounce off of.

He didn’t think when he noticed Max’s eyes were wide, watching, knowing.

And then David drove his hand to the side, and while his mind was supplying the anatomy of the neck easily from his studies, the mechanical motion was something engrained far deeper.

Either survival training or hunting, he couldn’t quite remember which.

Maybe it was deeper than that.

But then Daniel was dropping to his knees and David had to think again. He pulled Max into his arms, leaving the weapon to fall to the ground, and he felt Max shaking.

David’s legs buckled beneath him, and soon they were both shaking, soon they were both dirty stains and a pair of wide eyes. Max’s face was pressed against David’s shoulder, and he couldn’t tell if the dampened area was from blood or tears.

His eyes couldn’t leave the body.

His brain couldn’t seem to catch up, couldn’t seem to comprehend what he’d done. He felt like he should do something, _anything_ to make this better, but he couldn’t get his muscles to function.

It was as if his entire body was short circuiting.

After all, he had done something _horrible_.

And suddenly, completely, he felt dangerous. He had done something unspeakable and he had done it around children. He had a boy in his arms and he was covered in another man’s _blood._

He wanted to hold Max closer, ensure that he hadn’t been hurt, but something bigger told him to get Max away.

To get all of the campers away from him as fast as possible.

And soon his brain was running fast, far too fast, and he felt electricity sweep up his spine, and he had to get Max off of him. He had to give Max to someone else, let them help him, so he picked up his phone and went through a simple motion he had done a million times before.

“David why are you calling me? I thought you and Daniel could _handle_ the kids.” Gwen sounded irritated, and the chatter in the background reminded him of a coffee shop they tended to go to after camp closed for the summer.

Celebratory, that’s what the cafe always was to them.

“Gwen I need you to come back,” he mumbled, the words weren’t working properly.

“What? Why?” He could hear her putting something in a bag, probably her laptop.

“I don’t. I can’t-” David glanced down at Max, still in his arms, and finally pushed out, “ _come back._ ”

She seemed to have gotten the message, and he heard the jingle of a bell above the cafe’s door, he heard the Camp Mobile rattle. Neither one of them hung up, and David didn’t move, simply watching Daniel’s body as he pushed down his need to get Max to someone he could trust.

Gwen was going to hate him.

Though, that was a risk he was willing to take if it meant everyone’s security.

The gravel several yards behind him shifted under wheels, and soon he heard Gwen shouting for him. He heard running, and a gasp, but the steps didn’t stop coming.

Not until they were by his side.

“David, what the fuck happened?” Her words were full of something he’d never heard before, something far too like stone.

He didn’t look away from Daniel’s body.

“I need you to take Max.”

Max pushed away from David, just enough to analyze his face, and the look in his eyes was unrecognizable. They were full of confusion, almost betrayal, and it made David shiver.

Max’s grip on David tightened, and his eyes darted between the pair of adults. “I’m not going fucking _anywhere_.”

David’s focus jumped between Max, Gwen, and the body, a rooted panic boiling in his gut as he tried to think of a compromise.

“I still don’t know what the hell is going on and I need to know. This isn’t something where I can be left in the dark, David, I _need_ to know what happened.”

He couldn’t _think._

“If you think you can just fucking discard me you’re a bigger piece of shit than I thought, camp man. You- you don’t get to do that!”

He couldn’t _breathe._

“What the _fuck_ happened-”

He snapped.

“Everyone _stop talking._ ”

His voice was cold, far more icy than he had expected, and he tasted grape. But the two fell silent, allowing David to close his eyes for a brief moment.

“Max, I need you to go with Gwen so I can take care of things. You’re not safe with me, and Gwen can look after you campers. Gwen, I need you to do this for me. Please.”

His voice was strained, and he only opened his eyes after he’d finished speaking. Gwen seemed pained, almost nauseous, at his request, but she nodded. Max looked frozen, as if letting go of David’s shirt would lead to the end of the world, and he only tightened his grip.

“I’m not going, you can’t fucking make me,” his voice croaked, and David sighed, feeling the need to get Max into someone else’s arms growing.

He untied his bandana and placed it in Max’s hands.

“Max, I _need_ you to go with Gwen. You’ll be safe with her, it’ll all be okay.” His voice was stressed, and he couldn’t muster a smile, but Max seemed to find something in his eyes worth trusting.

So he nodded, and he pulled the bandana to his chest.

Keeping up reputation had been abandoned long ago, and Max let Gwen pick him up, hiding most of his face in the damaged cloth between his fists. He had yet to look back at the body, and David couldn’t help but be relieved at that.

David stood, swallowing a shaky breath as he let the energy in his veins begin to settle. He knew Gwen, knew her loyalty, and that was enough.

The trust appeared to be mutual, as she carried Max with her and slowly led each camper, one by one, into the Mess Hall without question. He couldn’t quite understand it, brain not able to fully comprehend how she so readily followed along in his request, but he supposed he would do the same for her.

As the adrenalin faded from David, he began to feel the full force of what had happened. With one look at the crumpled body, he ran to the edge of the treeline and vomited, body trembling and screaming at him to rest. But he had no choice but to ignore that, and, picking up the knife with one hand, he stumbled over to Daniel.

His brain still couldn’t connect the dots.

Even as he closed Daniel’s eyes, he felt numb more than anything.

His mind provided some information about the signs of shock and trauma, and he supposed that was something for future him to deal with.

Not sure what to do, he waited for all of the campers to be guided into the Mess Hall before walking over to where they had been. He tipped half full cups of punch onto the grass, uncaring of the damage they would do. He couldn’t help but be apathetic as he watched the large bowl spill its contents onto the green, and something almost seemed funny about how there was equal amounts violet and crimson by the end of it.

He almost wanted to laugh.

Or smile.

Maybe he did, but he couldn’t quite tell if his face was doing anything.

Slowly, he made his way back to the bloodied frame, and he found himself watching again as he lifted Daniel into his arms, the dagger placed on his stomach.

Watching as he walked into the forest, finding a deep enough pit to slide the figure into.

Watching as he pushed dirt until blond vanished beneath soil and he could rest for a moment, hidden between the trees.

And then he was pulled back into reality, back into his body and his present and he felt sick again. He purged the contents of his stomach behind a tree for the second time, before dragging a fallen log over the remaining indent in the earth to ensure the permanence of Daniel’s disappearance.

David wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to feel, walking away from Daniel and back towards the camp. He supposed he dreaded explaining to the campers what had happened, dreaded talking to Gwen even more so.

He had promised the campers and their parents a safe few months, a welcome and warm and _secure_ stay at Camp Campbell, but that couldn’t have been further from what had just happened. And a part of him wondered if that had _ever_ been the case, knowing now what he was capable of.

Maybe Gwen would know what to do better than he did.

So when he got back to the camp, back to the Mess Hall where all the campers had pulled lucidity from the fear soaked air and had changed into garish outfits once again, he went to Gwen, first. They were sat in front of the camp’s TV, a movie playing to preoccupy them. Max was with Neil and Nikki, still with the bandana clutched to his chest, and all three of them seemed far quieter than usual. All of the campers, now that David took in the atmosphere, were far too silent. Even with a movie to distract them, there was typically some form of chatter, something comforting and low, but now there was nothing.

Gwen had taken down the posters and discarded the celebratory foods, he realized belatedly.

David sat next to her at the table, and when she pulled out the first aid kit he took off his shirt and vest. Both were torn and muddied, drying blood stains staring back at him, and he figured it’d be easier to simply discard them.

Neither of them talked as Gwen began disinfecting and bandaging.

It was only as Gwen was putting the supplies back in the kit that she spoke, and David could hear worry dripping from her words.

“David, what am I supposed to say?”

He looked at his hands, leaning forward on his elbows, and he tried to speak, tried to give a proper reply, but his voice seemed to cut out. Taking an uneasy breath and swallowing, he attempted to force his body back into its regular routine.

A bandaged hand carted through ginger, and he felt remnants of drying blood tangling it. He shivered, resorting to simply rubbing his knuckles above his brow in nervous habit.

“I don’t even know what _I’m_ supposed to say, Gwen. I don’t- I can’t shake the feeling like that should’ve gone differently, you know? Like it wasn’t supposed to end that way.” David hushed his tone, hoping the sound of the movie would cover up their conversation.

Gwen sighed and leaned back, rubbing her face anxiously.

“They kept asking me what’d happened, and I didn’t have an _answer_ . I didn’t know what to tell them because _all_ I know is that there’s a dead body of some guy in the forest, and you and Max have his blood on your clothes.” There was something like anger in her frantic words, and David couldn’t help but wonder who it was aimed at. “I need to know what happened, David. I need information.”

He nodded, closing his eyes and focusing on his breath. He could feel the numbness fading, could tell everything was going to hit him at an overwhelming rate, and he knew that this marked his time frame. He only had a certain amount of hours he could choose from to explain the situation, and he hoped by the end of this newly formed deadline the campers wouldn’t be around him.

He nodded again, mumbled an “okay,” and stood, steeling himself. Only then did he walk over to the TV and pause the film, pushing the machine cart to the side so he could be the centre of attention.

All eyes followed him, all eyes exhausted and confused.

Only one pair of eyes was trained on their connected fists, golden fabric rubbing between finger pads.

David coughed, buying time and clearing his throat, and he began talking.

Gwen had explained to him a few weeks prior that you can’t dodge questions forever. Sometimes it’s easier to give a straight answer and simply role with it. When he’d finished his overview, leaving out details and blurring the lines between beant truth, and when campers began raising questions, he wasn’t sure if Gwen’s instructions were the way to go.

When a camper asked where Daniel was, exactly, he decided Gwen’s instructions were absolutely useless.

Eventually, as David felt the panic growing and his knees beginning to shake again, he called off the questions, ensured the campers were safe, and put the movie back on. Falling back on the seat next to Gwen, he cut off the start of a question with a look, one that she’d only a few times before, but one that was concrete.

One that begged they talk about this later.

Gwen stood, saying something about getting David a new shirt to put on, and left with a grounding squeeze to his shoulder. How she held so much trust for him, David couldn’t understand, not after what she’d just experienced and had yet to understand.

But he was thankful, and so he left himself smile.

The hours dripped away slowly, Gwen returned with a new shirt for David, the QuarterMaster brought in dinner for the campers, and soon the credits began to role at the end of the film. David and Gwen watched as the campers got ready for bed, slipping into tents with a simmering nervousness lingering between them.

David fought against himself the entire time, and Gwen gave him a concerned glance as he fidgeted off to the side. It was only when the Counselor’s Cabin door closed behind them that he let go.

And he had been right, it was truly overwhelming.

Gwen was caught off guard, hearing knees hit old floorboards and a rattling sob muffled behind a pair of hands. David felt arms wrap around him quickly, and he couldn’t help but cling to the fabric of her shirt.

He began babbling, listing off the series of events to their entirety. He didn’t think about what he was saying, didn’t pay attention as he described as many details as he could muster. He wasn’t even sure it made sense, voice finally cutting out as his brain replayed the final moment.

David could remember the look in Max’s eyes just as he was doing it.

He could remember the stench of blood, and how _easy_ it was for him to do it.

Gwen held onto him tighter as he began shaking more violently, his eyes open in panic as story turned to stammers.

“I did that, Gwen, I- I killed him- I- and Max- I’m dangerous- they shouldn’t be- right?” He couldn’t stop himself, his mouth kept moving and he wasn’t sure it was because he wanted to say anything, because honestly he would have preferred to shut up, and maybe the silence was just too much but he couldn’t stop _talking and-_

And Gwen was rubbing his back, and she began to hum a simple tune. It was a soft melody, one he thought he’d heard before in the moonlight of another panicked episode.

He hid his face in her shoulder and breathed in time with her heartbeat.

“You’re okay, David. You did what you had to and it’s _over_ now,” she whispered.

David nodded.

“You’re not dangerous, David. You’re the best person I’ve ever met, and we trust you for a reason.”

David’s grip tightened.

They didn’t move from the floor for quite a while, even after his tears had ceased, and it was only when there was a knock at their door that Gwen got up. She pulled a blanket to David for him to wrap around his shoulders before looking outside, opening the entrance quietly to show an anxious boy, a worn teddy bear, and a bloodied bandana.

His sweater was still stained, too, and David realized they’d have to do a lot of laundry the next day.

He almost wanted to laugh at the simplicity of that thought.

Max walked towards David slowly, a furrowed brow attempting to disguise the obvious discomfort in his stance. They were eye to eye, with David sitting on the old wooden flooring, and Max took in shaky breaths.

“You doing okay, kiddo?” David’s voice was raw from crying and rambling, but there was care in it.

An understanding.

Max didn’t say anything for a moment, rubbing the arm of his bear in thought, before clearing his throat.

“Do you think I could sleep in here, just for tonight?”

It was quiet enough David thought he could have misheard, but he gave Max a gentle smile and sighed, “of course, bud.”

Max nodded, sniffing and rubbing his nose, before he finally looked up at David. There was uncertainty in his gaze, but he quirked his brow at the sight of David’s red eyes and nose. He suddenly looked him up and down, as if just noticing David was sitting on the floor with a blanket around his shoulders.

“Were you crying?”

David huffed, flashing a half hearted smile and nodding.

Max matched his smile and choked out a laugh, “that’s kinda lame.”

David felt a chuckle push through the burning lump in his throat, nodding again as he wiped wet, blurry vision from his eyes. Max buried his face in his bear, shoulders shaking, and soon broken laughs turned to hiccups.

Soon misty sight turned to wet cheeks.

Soon Max was under the blanket, protected by a pair of bandaged arms.

Soon David’s head was leaned against Gwen’s chest.

And the silence of the night drank up their splintered chokes.

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah, hope you enjoyed even though it was uh. Oof.
> 
> sorry jkfhjsfgd
> 
> I wanted to have more of a conversation between Max and David but it didn't feel quite right so here we are. Thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed in some way !
> 
> until next time !
> 
> tumblr: trash-mammall


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